Cellular and Molecular Pathways Regulating Airway Mucosal Dendritic Cells During Onset of Allergic Airways Inflammation

过敏性气道炎症（AAI）是一种由免疫系统对基本上无害的吸入性过敏原的异常活动介导的疾病，可导致过敏性哮喘等使人衰弱的疾病。免疫系统的两种特殊细胞类型在控制AAI的发生和持续方面很重要，它们被称为树突状细胞（DC）和辅助性T型2细胞（Th2细胞）。DC位于呼吸道的所有部位，在向Th2细胞提供控制信号以开启并开始对吸入的过敏原作出反应方面很重要。然后，Th2细胞产生各种信号，启动针对过敏原的级联免疫反应，如果不加以控制，最终可能导致AAI和哮喘，然而，这一过程仍然相对知之甚少。该项目旨在研究DC和Th2如何相互作用，以及在何种水平上DC活性可以被调节，从而控制对无害吸入过敏原的未检查Th2免疫。希望能够识别新的细胞和分子途径，最终成为新一代预防和治疗药物的目标。

Allergic airways inflammation (AAI), which leads to debilitating disease such as allergic asthma, is a condition medaited by the abnormal activity of the immune system towards essentially harmless inhlaed allergens. Two special cell types of the immmune system that are important in controlloing the onset and persistence of AAI are known as dendritic cells (DC) and T helper type 2 cells (Th2 cells). DC are located in all parts of the respiratory tract and are important in providing control signals to Th2 cells to become switched on and start to react to an inhaled allergen. Th2 cells then generate a variety of signals that initiate an cascade of immune responses towards the allergen that ultimately can lead to AAI and asthma if left unchecked, however this process remians relatively poorly understood. This project aims to examine how DC and Th2 interact, and at what level DC activity can be regulated so that unchecked Th2 immunity to harmless inhaled allergens can be controlled. The hope is to be able to identify new cellular and molecular pathways that can eventually become the target for new generations of preventative and therapeutic drugs.